Artificial building material and method for producing the same.



Y L. KERN. ARTIFICIAL BUILDING MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THESAME.

- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1914.

1,206,545. v Patentefl Nov. 28,1916.

Ii 2 HEETS-sugar f F K dwfila Iudw Kern A TTOHNEB'S L KERN. MATERIAL ANDMETHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAN APPLICATION FILED sum: 22. 1914.

Patentad Nov. 28; 1916.

ARTIFICIAL BUILDING 19mm,

2 SHEETS-SIIEET 2.

WITNESSES A TTORNE Y8 LUDWIG KERN,'OF HAMBURG, GERMANY.

ARTIFICIAL BUILDING MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. as, rare.

Application filed .Tune 22, 1914. Serial No. 846,490.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Lmawre KERN, a subject ofthe German Emperor, and a resident of Hamburg, Germany, have invented anew and Improved Artificial Building Material and Method for Producingthe Same, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved artificialbrick or like building material and method for producing the same, thebrick having the desired strength of compression, is sound andfireproof, exceedingly light and porous and capable of being sawed,"drilled and nailed in place, thus rendering the brick exceedinglyserviceable for use in partition walls and other interior structures.

In order to accomplish the desired result, use is made of infusorialearth and a clay melting at a low degree of heat, the infusorial earthand clay being mixed together while in wet condition in about theproportions of two-thirds of infusorial earth to one-third of the clay,the ingest-antenna being mixed and pressed into form being burned in ashort time at a comparatively low temperature.

The method consists essentially in intimately mixing infusorial earthand clay of a low melting point while both are in a wet condition, thenmolding and pressing the mass to former brick, then subjecting the brickto the action of a current of air, then subjecting the brick to a heatof approximately 650 to 950 centigrade, for a few hours, and finallysubjecting the brick to a current of air for quickly cooling it. Brickthus cooled very rapidly is able to resist disruption to a high degree,and there is the added advantage that the entire process of producin thebrick in condition to be handled requlres but as many hours as the usualor old process requires days.

In order to carry out this method use is made of a kiln or oven, such asshown in the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a cross section of the kiln; Fig. 2 is a reduced sideelevation of the same with the housing in section and some of the sidedoors of the furnace and air inlets. omitted; and Fig. 3 is a front endelevation'of the kiln.

In the present invention a brick is produced which has four essentialproperties,

namely, strength of compression, soundproof and fire proof qualities,porosity, and low specific gravity. Heretofore bricks have been made ofa mass consisting of infusorial earth and ordinary clay of a highmelting point and burned in an ordinary brick kiln. The bricks thusproduced lack two of the four properties above mentioned, namely, lowspecific gravity and porosity. Now in order to render such brick porous,an easily burnable substance, such as carbon, coke, cornminutedwoodorpork, was added were mixture and burned d'ui'lng the process ofhardening the brick, thus leaving pores or openings in the brick, butsuch a brick does not possess the desired strength of compression. It isalso desirable that a brick can be easily transported the same as theordinary bricks, that is, without requiring special packings. The brickpresently described in detail has the above desired properties and canbe readily shipped and used.

In detail, I proceed as follows: A' clay having a low melting point,such as used for the manufacture of earthenware, flower pots and similarporous articles, and infusorial earth are mixed while wet in the proportions of two-thirds of infusorial earth to one-third of clay, and theresultant mass is then formed and pressed by suitable machinery intobrick form or other form. The bricks are next set in staggered relationin a kiln or oven and subjected therein to a strong current of air. Thebricks are next NT orrrcn. Y

subjected for a few hours to a heat of about 650 to 950 centigrade, toburn or harden the bricks, and then the bricks are subjected while inthe kiln to another current of air of a carrier and hence only a verysmall amount of the diatoms is absorbed by the clay during thesubsequent burning. The remaining major portion of the diatoms remainsunabsorbed and in drying forms a cemented diatomic mass intermediate.the

are

clay particles. It is well known that in slowly grade) the diatoms arecompletely absorbed by the clay and hence the brick is not porous and isas heavy as ordinary brick. It is expressly understood that owing to thelow melting point of the clay the latter-melts prior to being capable ofabsorbing all or the major portion of the diatoms and hence only a smallportion of the diatoms are absorbed by the clay while the remainingportion of the diatoms forms a hard cementitious mass which binds theclay. It is further understood that clay of a low melting pointpossesses a larger percentage of fluxing substances than clay having ahigh melting point of 950 to 1600 centigrade, and hence the burning ofthe brick can be accomplished in from three to six hours instead of somany days, as is required for burning ordinary ceramic Ware. In carryingoif some of the moisture by the strong current of air, the pores areopened and allow a ready escape of the steam and gases which form duringthe subsequent burning and hence the bricks are not liable to crack,burst or break during the burning operation by the penned steam andgases The kiln or oven consists of a suitable housing A having aninterior lining B of fire clay or other fireproof material, and thehousing is built on a suitable founda-' tion 0. The front end of thehousing A is provided with suitable doors D, D in front of which arearranged platform's E, E for carrying the bricks to be burned into theinterior of the housing A and removing the burned bricks therefrom. Thehousing A is provided with horizontally disposed perforate partitions F,F, and F dividing the interior of the housing into two compartments G.and G for receiving the bricks, and into a bottom combustion chamber Gand a top chamber G, from which extends a chimney H, the bottom H ofwhich is likewise perforated, as indicated in Fig. 1. The bricks are seton the partitions F and F, as indicated in Fig. 1, and with the sidesspaced from the sides of the lining B to permit a proper circulation ofair and heat, as hereinafter more fully explained.

The sides ofthe housing A are provided with furnaces I for burning cokeor other fuel and opening into the combustion chamber G, the furnaces Ion the two sides of the kiln being arranged in staggered rela tion toeach other, and each furnace is provided with a. suitable door I. Theash pit J for each furnace I opens at its inner end into the combustionchamber G for admitting air into the said combustion chamber prior tostarting up the furnaces I, so as to subject the bricks in thecompartments G and G to the action of a strong current of air. The outerends of the ash pits J are provided with suitable doors J. L

In order to prevent the air and the heat emanating from the burning fuelin the furnaces I from risin centrally through the compartments G, G tothe stack H, it is desirable to close the middle perforatioys F of thepartitions F, F and F during the beginning of the firing of the furnacesI, and for this purpose the said middle perforations F are preferablyclosed by suitable dampers K mounted on rods K extending to the outsideof the kiln and adapted to be turned by the operator to open and closethe said dampers and consequently the middle perforations F". Thus whenthe dampers are closed the air and the heat from the combustion chamberGr passes upwardly through the open side perforations F of the partitionF and through the bricks resting on the said partition. The

air or heat next passes through the side observing the burning of thebricks in the,

said compartments.

The operation is as follows: The bricks are set in staggered relationinto the compartments G and G, as previously explained, and then thedoors D, D are closed and the doors J are opened so that a current ofair can circulate through the compartments G G, G and Gr and through thebricks set in the compartments G and G.- The current of air removes someof the moisture contained in the bricks and then the furnaces I arestarted so as to cause the resultant products of combustion to circulatethrough the conipartments G G G and G and through the bricks to burn thesame. Owing to the use of clay of a low melting point it requires but acomparatively short time, say three to six hours, to complete theburning of the bricks, and then the fires in the furnaces are drawn andthe doors J are again full opened to allow air to circulate through t ebricks to quickly cool the same. It is understood that at the beginninof the operation the dampers K are pre erably closed to prevent thebricks in the centers of the stacks from being subjected to an injuriousconcentrated high heat, but after the bricks have been somewhat burnedthe dampers K are opened to insure a uniform burning of all the bricksin the stacks.

In order to enable the workmen to properly form the stacks of bricks inthe coin partments G and G the partitions F and F are provided near thesides with raised ledges F to form guides for formin the stacks, as willbe readily understoo by reference to Fig. 1.

The inner faces of the lining B are provided with lugs B to preventobstruction of the passages between the sides of the stacks and theinner faces of the lining in case some of the bricks in the stacksshould become displaced and fall against the said faces of the lining.

The herein described kiln is described and claimed in my copendingapplication No. 70,217, filed January 4, 1916, which is a division ofthis application.

'Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. As an article of manufacture, a brick for building purposes formed ofa mixture of infusorial earth and a clay having a low melting point, inabout the proportions specified the mixture melting at a temperature ofa out 650 to 950 centigrade, whereby a brick which is porous, fireproof,and of low specific gravity is produced.

2. The herein described method for producing a brick which is porous,fireproof and of low specific gravity, consisting in infusorial earthand a clay having a low melting point while both ingredients are wet,then molding and pressing the resultant mass into the desired shape,then subjecting the brick to the action of a current of air, then.burning the brick, and then quickly cooling the brick.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnes'zes.

LUDWIG KERN.

